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Republicans are going to have to explain to their constituents who have bills to pay and children to feed why they voted against helping them out, Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison told reporters this week. Voters will never forget who stood up for them during this unprecedented time and who stood in the way.

But Republicans, who traditionally would be expected to gain seats in the midterms as the opposition party, insist they are not sweating it. They are mounting their own campaign to brand the bill as a partisan giveaway laden with Democratic priorities that are unrelated to the pandemic, and are using their own unanimous opposition to the bill as proof that COVID aid, which was supported by both parties under Donald Trump, is partisan.

Spending $2 trillion on a party line vote is not going to be popular, predicted Republican strategist Michael Steel, who was a top aide to former House speaker John Boehner.

But if that prediction is going to come to pass, Republicans have a lot of work to do. A recent Pew poll found that 70 percent of Americans favor the bill, including 41 percent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents. Just 42 percent of Americans said they believe Republicans are making a good faith effort to work with Biden on the bill. One poll from the left-leaning firm Public Policy Polling found that more Americans wanted the relief bill than a new puppy.

That popularity opens up an opportunity for Democrats to paint Republicans as uncaring about the needs of everyday Americans during a pandemic.

The rescue plan is literally more popular than puppies, Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson said. People want this plan more than they want a puppy and Republicans just voted against it.

Democrats also note that their party picked up two Senate seats in traditionally red Georgia in January after the GOP-controlled Senate scaled down the size of relief checks in the last COVID aid bill painting a potentially ominous picture for Republicans after this move.

What are they going to say? The $1,400 check is too big? said Mark Longabaugh, a former top aide to Senator Bernie Sanders, about the Republicans midterm message. That aint going anywhere.

In Congress, Democrats have warned Republicans not to try to take credit for the latest rescue bill in the future.

I hope that we dont see some of my Republican friends show up at announcements announcing money and resources for schools and cities . . . trying to take credit for something theyve voted against, Representative Jim McGovern of Worcester said during House debate on the bill Tuesday.

If Republicans dont seem nervous, its because they say theyve heard this song before in 2009, when the GOP largely stood together to vote against a $787 billion stimulus bill negotiated by Biden, then the vice president, at the nadir of the Great Recession. Democrats predicted Republicans would suffer for their obstruction, but instead, the party made historic gains in the 2010 midterms, buoyed by anger over the Affordable Care Act, which passed in early 2010.

In 2010 Id be on TV with [DNC spokesman] Brad Woodhouse and hed say, Not a damn Republican voted for this bill and theyre going to lose, recalled Doug Heye, a Republican National Committee spokesman at the time. And Id be like, OK, Brad, I think were going to have a good year.

Biden and other Democrats appear haunted by the aftermath of that stimulus, and the president has been pressing Democrats to aggressively sell the benefits of the bill.

We didnt adequately explain what we had done. Barack [Obama] was so modest, Biden told House Democrats at their virtual conference last week. I kept saying, Tell people what we did. He said, We dont have time. Im not going to take a victory lap. And we paid a price for it, ironically, for that humility.

On Tuesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president would likely travel around the country to tout the bill.

We certainly recognize that we cant just sign a bill again, Psaki said. Were not taking anything for granted.

But the White House is passing on one key way to sell the bill putting Bidens name on the checks that will reach Americans. Trump ensured his name was on the memo line of checks the Treasury Department distributed; Biden will not be doing the same.

This is not about him; this is about the American people getting relief almost 160 million of them, Psaki said.

Democrats believe that several factors are different now than in 2009 and 2010, when Republicans did not pay a political price.

For one, Democrats have such narrow congressional majorities its unlikely they will squeeze through another major piece of legislation like the health care bill, which rallied the GOP last time. The COVID aid bill also includes direct cash relief, unlike the tax credits of the 2009 stimulus, which Americans might not have even realized they received. And finally, Republicans do not appear to be putting forward alternative solutions to COVID relief, instead changing the subject to culture war issues, which Democrats believe voters will see as a cop-out.

The Republican Party doesnt stand for anything right now, said Ian Russell, a Democratic strategist and former political director for the House Democrats campaign arm. They spent last week talking about Dr. Seuss and Mr. Potato Head. Its tougher for them when the American people need help and theyre just saying no.

But in the end, Republicans will still go into the midterms with several structural advantages as a party.

Democrats weakness in rural areas and gerrymandering of congressional district boundaries give Republicans an edge in the House. The Senates Republicans also represent 42 million fewer Americans than the Senates Democrats despite the chamber being evenly divided between the two parties, according to a calculation by Vox. That means congressional Republicans need to convince fewer voters to back them to have the same political power as their Democratic colleagues, lessening the risk of spurning popular policies.

The midterm elections are also nearly two years away, which leaves plenty of time for new crises to reshape the political environment and potentially erase the COVID aid bill from voters memories.

Good luck on making any predictions on anything happening in America in 20 months, Heye said.

Liz Goodwin can be reached at elizabeth.goodwin@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizcgoodwin.

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Zero Republicans voted for the COVID relief bill. Will that haunt them in the midterms? - The Boston Globe

Gonzales says he wants to make sure border communities, immigration agencies have resources to deal with increased unauthorized migration

by: Julian Resendiz

US Border Patrol vehicles are pictured near the Paso Del Norte International Bridge at the US-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on September 12, 2019. The US Supreme Court on September 11, 2019, allowed asylum restrictions by President Donald Trumps administration to take effect, preventing most Central American migrants from applying at the US border. (Photo by Paul Ratje / AFP) (Photo credit should read PAUL RATJE/AFP via Getty Images)

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) The 26 Republicans in the House Appropriations Committee are asking their Democratic chair to hold hearings on an immigration problem they say is reaching crisis proportions at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Illegal border crossings have skyrocketed this past month and are set to exceed the record-breaking numbers we saw in 2019, the Republicans said in a letter sent Wednesday to U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut. In light of these alarming figures we respectfully request the (committee) hold hearings on the ongoing security and humanitarian crisis at our southern border.

The acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection earlier Wednesday released enforcement data showing more undocumented migrants were stopped at the border in February than in any month going back to June 2019.

The Republicans say that on Tuesday alone the Border Patrol and Army National Guard members run into 5,204 migrants, bringing the total for this fiscal year to more than 200,000.

Over the last two years, Congress and the previous administration passed legislation to strengthen our border and provide the resources needed to assist agencies with the surge of migrants. We are eager to continue working together to gather the facts about the current situation on the border and develop solutions to address this crisis, the Republicans said.

U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, who represents a large West Texas district that includes Culberson, Hudspeth and East El Paso County, said he recently visited a shelter for unaccompanied minors in Carrizo Springs and inspected a stretch of border near Eagle Pass.

Every week I see firsthand the problems caused by the lack of resources at the border. Our communities are hurting, and I plan to use my position on the Appropriations Committee to ensure we are utilizing all of our resources to combat the ongoing crisis at our southern border, Gonzales said.

Gonzales, New Mexico Republican Yvette Herrell and Arlingtons U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, were scheduled to give more details on the proposed hearings during a live teleconference from Washington, D.C.

To watch the 9:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) event, follow this link:https://www.republicanleader.gov/live/

Visit theBorderReport.com homepagefor the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the United States-Mexico border.

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Republicans want to hold hearings on immigration crisis on the border - KTSM 9 News

And so it begins. A dozen Republican attorneys general have filed a legal challenge apparently the first of many expected group efforts over President Joe Biden's executive order restoring an Obama administration directive that federal agencies estimate the social costs of carbon emissions when devising policies.

Taking such costs into account is just common sense when trying to understand the connections between federal actions and climate change, so of course President Donald Trump ended it. Biden brought it back, and now Republican attorneys general want the courts to rule that doing so somehow violates the separation of powers between Congress and the executive branch.

Maybe if they didn't have their heads so deeply buried in the tar sands they'd recognize that pursuing policies that fail to reduce carbon emissions imperils people in red states just as much as anywhere else.

"Setting the 'social cost' of greenhouse gases is an inherently speculative, policy-laden, and indeterminate task, which involves attempting to predict such unknowable contingencies as future human migrations, international conflicts, and global catastrophes for hundreds of years into the future," the lawsuit argues.

Whether their legal argument has any legs is doubtful.

"My immediate reaction is that these states should have a very hard time convincing a judge that a President asking his agencies to work together, to engage with the public and stakeholders, and then to follow the best available science and economics to evaluate the consequences of their decisions, is somehow illegal," Jason A. Schwartz, legal director of the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University, told Bloomberg Law.

The reality is that global warming is happening, and human activity is driving it. We will spend "hundreds of billions or trillions of dollars" whether we abandon fossil fuels and convert the vast majority of the world's energy production to renewable sources, or if we just shrug our shoulders and forge ahead with emissions that are raising sea levels (which will drown billions of dollars worth of coastal development), increasing both floods and droughts, and feeding bigger, stronger hurricanes and other major storm systems.

Yes, the transition to renewable energy will cost jobs in the oil-and-gas sector but it will also create new ones in the renewable energy sector, something some industry leaders recognize as they try (sometimes under government pressure) to position themselves less as oil-and-gas companies than as energy companies.

Also, China already is casting a clearer eye on the future than the U.S., despite Republicans' oft-expressed concerns about maintaining the vitality of American industry and leading the global transition. If the U.S. doesn't get its act together, it will cede the turf to a major economic rival, forgoing the chance to forge a stronger and sustainable energy sector, and economy, while clinging Trumpishly to the energy policies that got us into such straits in the first place.

Of course the Republican attorneys general have every right to turn to the courts to challenge policies they believe violate laws and damage their states and constituencies. Blue states did that very thing, with California Attorney General Xavier Becerra involved in 110 such challenges himself.

But constituents of those Republican attorneys general would be wise to look closely at the risks they are taking, and remember that voters were the ones who elected these would-be saviors in the first place.

The Los Angeles Times

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Martelle: Republicans are still sticking their heads in the tar sands on climate change - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Not a single Republican lawmaker in either chamber voted in favor of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion economic aid package over the past few weeks, reflecting their fierce opposition to an early Democratic legislative priority.

The House voted 220-211 to approve the relief legislation in mostly party-line vote on Wedensday. The legislation encountered a brick wall of GOP opposition as every House Republican voted against it. Only one Democrat defected Rep. Jared Golden of Maine.

Republicans blasted the plan as a partisan wishlist replete with untargeted spending. "This isn't a rescue bill; it isn't a relief bill; it is a laundry list of left-wing priorities that predate the pandemic and do not meet the needs of American families," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said during a floor speech Wednesday.

The bill's path through the House and Senate illustrates the widening gulf between Republicans and Democrats in Congress a year into the pandemic. After six emergency spending bills totaling $5 trillion, the economy's trajectory is starting to trend upward, though there are 10 million fewer jobs compared to the onset of the crisis.

But Republicans are pushing to slam the brakes on any further government spending in an echo of recent years. Nearly a decade ago, President Barack Obama pushed through an $800 billion stimulus package aimed at stemming the freefall of the American economy after the financial crisis.

That measure drew some GOP support. Every House Republican voted against the bill in February 2009. However, it eventually garnered the support of three Republican senators in the upper chamber as Democrats at the time pressed to keep the bill's price tag in check over deficit concerns.

Many economists say that step stymied the economic recovery for several years, an experience that Democrats are determined to avoid now. Democrats pushed through the legislation using a maneuver known as budget reconciliation. That allows bills to be approved in the Senate with a simple majority of 51 votes instead of 60.

Right-leaning experts argue Democrats cut out Republicans from the drafting process. Biden rejected a $618 billion stimulus counteroffer put forward by a group of 10 Senate Republicans in February. That drastically smaller aid plan ultimately went nowhere.

"They were completely ignored," Brian Riedl, a budget expert at the libertarian-leaning Manhattan Institute, said in an interview. "Democrats put out a $1.9 trillion bill, barely moved an inch and there was no attempt at compromise."

He added: "Republicans are more concerned about drawing a line in the sand, and spending money more smartly in a recession ."

Others on the left, however, say that Republicans are less willing to negotiate a middle ground with Democrats.

"It's the latest indication of how polarized the Republican Party has become, despite the fact it's overwhelmingly popular with the American people," Jim Manley, a former senior Democratic aide, told Insider. "They were prepared to vote no."

That hasn't prevented some Republicans from attempting to take credit of components of the massive rescue legislation. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississsippi tweeted in support of a provision that would provide $28.6 billion in "targeted relief" to restaurants. It triggered criticism from Democrats who pointed out he rejected the stimulus bill.

"I'm not going to vote for $1.9 trillion just because it has a couple of good provisions," Wicker told reporters afterwards.

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Not a single Republican in either chamber of Congress voted for Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package - Business Insider

Donald Trump had a weird habit of bragging about having eliminated the estate tax, to the point that he actually seemed to believe it. That was unfortunate: the Republicans' regressive tax plan in 2017 narrowed the eligibility of who would be affected by the estate tax, but the GOP did not scrap it altogether.

That said, the party still wants to. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) issued this press release yesterday about a re-introduced Republican bill.

Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) and fellow lawmakers today reintroduced the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2021 to permanently repeal the federal estate tax, commonly known as the "death tax." The Death Tax Repeal Act would finally end a punitive tax that has the potential to hit family-run farms, ranches and businesses upon the owner's death.

According to the press statement, the new legislation is co-sponsored by half of the Senate Republican conference. It also includes the support of the entirety of the Senate GOP leadership: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is on board, as is Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.C.), who tweeted about the bill late yesteday.

The good news is, Senate Republicans have finally found a policy idea they're eager to work on. The bad news, their policy idea is to give more tax breaks to the wealthiest of the wealthy.

Obviously, given the political circumstances -- Democrats control both the White House and Congress -- this legislation will not succeed. In fact, it won't get a hearing or a vote, either. Republicans know this, but they're eager to champion the proposal anyway.

And that, in and of itself, is extraordinary. As regular readers may recall, the estate tax currently only applies to estates worth more than $22 million. By most estimates, we're talking about a few thousand Americans -- each of whom is among the wealthiest of the wealthy -- who might actually be affected by the tax.

But Senate Republicans are eager to champion the cause of these millionaires and billionaires, even if the bill won't pass.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) declared a couple of weeks ago, "The Republican Party is not just the party of country clubs. The Republican Party is the party of steel workers, construction workers, pipeline workers, police officers, firefighters, waiters, and waitresses."

That's nice rhetoric, I suppose, but while Republican senators oppose minimum-wage increases for those waiters and waitresses, they also have no qualms about giving yet another tax break to the country-club crowd.

Complicating matters further is the context: literally today, congressional Democrats are going to pass an ambitious COVID relief package that focuses most of its benefits on low-income and working-class Americans. The New York Times explained over the weekend that the Democrats' American Rescue Plan "would overwhelmingly help low earners and the middle class, with little direct aid for the high earners who have largely kept their jobs and padded their savings over the past year."

A Washington Post report added that the American Rescue Plan "represents one of the most generous expansions of aid to the poor in recent history."

It's against this backdrop that 25 Republican senators decided the time to introduce a bill to give a tax cut to millionaires and billionaires is ... right now? If the GOP is lucky, voters won't notice.

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Even now, Senate Republicans seek another tax break for the wealthy - MSNBC